Red Hessian Battleship 'Berne'
Omega-5 Battlefront
The Hammen Hole, a graveyard of old Corsair and Hessian ships, struggling for supremacy in what most believed to be a never-ending battle between two organizations. Thousands of casualties have been taken over the years in this hellhole...Neither side yielding an inch to the other.
The Berne passed by the wreck of yet another Corsair fighter while patrolling their side of the hole, it's massive guns scanning the space around it for any hostiles that dared to come even remotely close in the hopes that they would be foolish enough to take on the Battleship.
Kapitan Ludwig Strauss sat in his chair, watching as his comrades buzzed around him like insects in a hive, he could hear the occasional chatter of status reports, the odd joke here and there about two Hessians, a Corsair and a Libertonian Lawyer walking into a bar and occasionally the grumbling of a disgruntled crewman who was bored out of his mind. The Kapitan himself was middle-aged, his short black hair now having streaks of gray at the sides while his brown eyes scanned the bridge itself, his uniform was obviously not in the best of conditions, the odd tear here and there at the sleeves while his boots were scuffed up. Tell-tale signs that they had been on patrol for quite some time now with little time to take full care of his uniform
Ludwig's attention snapped back into attention when the alarms sounded, red lights flashed as the ship prepared for battle. Standing up sharply from his chair he looks to his Tactical Officer, a young man, he remembered his name was Eric Schultz, his dirty blonde hair was a mess while his bright blue eyes showed signs of fatigue in the way of dark circles under them.
"Kapitan! We have hostile ships on approach, configuration from sensor shadows suggest bomber strike-craft!"
Ludwig's mind raced quickly through the possible counters, their turrets were not geared towards Anti-Snubcraft warfare, they were commissioned to take on Gunboats, Cruisers and on occasion other Battleships. Ronneburg was too far to request Fighter-Support and the closest Odin Patrol was five-minutes away...Rubbing his temples in annoyance he could only see one choice before them.
"All hands prepare for battlestations, contact the nearest patrol and get some Fighter Support, we will have to hold them off until they arrive, I want only our Primary and Secondary Cannons, Cerberus Cannons and the Light Mortar will be of no use to us here so take them online and re-route their energy to the cannons!"He snapped out while striding to the front of the bridge, gazing out of the reinforced window as his eyes scanned space for any signs of the enemy patrol.
However even his keen eyes didn't make them out before the Berne jolted as the shields tried to absorb the impact of Anti-Matter weaponry, stumbling slightly Ludwig was forced to grab ahole of one of the bulkheads to keep himself upright, looking back up towards the window he could see the figures of multiple Corsair ships, dancing in space as they prepared for another run.
He could see red streaks of the Berne's weaponry pass by as they tried to take down the enemy ships, however they kept dancing out of the path of the weaponry and out of range as they prepared for their second run. He could make out the shapes of four bombers when he squinted, enough to make a mess of things for a lone battleship...
As the bombers started to close in he held up his hand, beckoning the Tactical officer to wait.
"Hold fire until they are at 500m, than unleash your full fire on the lead bomber." he commanded as the ships closed in on the Berne...He could make out the distinct shapes of the Bombers now, details were getting clearer as they closed the distance rapidly, thinking the Berne to be easy prey for their squad. When the ships were within range Ludwig chopped his arm down and the Berne opened fire. The Lead ship didn't stand a chance at the unexpected resilience of the Berne and exploded within seconds of the cannonfire, causing the other ships to quickly break formation and scatter. Ludwig grinned as his crew let out a cheer at the fiery explosion, feeling their moral restored as they realized that they stood a chance.
The remaining bombers seemed unwilling to risk themselves and started to flee towards their side once more, Ludwig frowned as they did so, he knew that they would be back...They always came back eventually, their ability to turn out ships and fresh-troops was superior to their own, the Hessians however were unwilling to cripple their foe's ship-building capabilities because it would 'risk more lives than it is worth the effort.'... He scoffed, those were the orders of a coward, the Red Hessians would always be at this stalemate unless they took risks, the taking of Casablanca was one such risk that paid off, however since than the High Command didn't appear to even want to even think about taking another strike at their mortal enemy...Instead content to sit back and to keep the stalemate until the star of Omega-11 went nova.... With a deep and quite unhappy-sounding sigh he sat back down and massaged his forehead...Something had to change...
Getting up once more he headed to the bridge-doors at the back, giving a curt nod to Eric as he left. Heading down the corridors was always a challenge, due to the size of the Berne the corridors were smaller than those found onboard a Bismarck-Class Battleship, yet still he didn't have too much trouble squeezing around crewmen and trolleys taking tools and equipment to various sections of the ship until he reached the door to his quarters. His Chief Engineer, a short man who was as bald as he was muscular. The man's overalls were caked in synthetic oil from working in bowels of the ship. Ludwig gave a curt nod as he greeted the man warmly.
"Chief Keller, how are the 'arrangements'?"he asked as he opened his door and stepped inside, the shorter man closing the door behind him as he followed.
"I have spoken to the boys, most of them are sick and tired of this, day in and day out the Command has us patrolling out here uselessly, we're forced to jury-rig several systems due to being unable to put in at Wolfsburg for a full workup, if we don't make a choice soon than frankly we may have a different type of mutiny on our hands." the short engineer replied, crossing his large arms across his chest as he observed his Kaptain, waiting for the man to respond with the patience of stone. Ludwig sighed as he sunk onto his cot, running a hand through his hair as he sat sullenly for a moment before nodding.
"Can we rely on them to do their part in disabling the long-range transmitter once I've taken care of 'that'?"he asked, looking up from his hands towards the engineer, a determined expression crossing his face as the other man stiffly nodded." Aye Kapitan, but can we trust the people you are contacting to do what our own leaders cannnot?" he replied, playing devils advocate for the moment before continuing"For all you know they could be just as cowardly as those who call themselves the Red Hessian Army or those Rot Front fools who think themselves above those of us in the Omega-5 Front..."
This caused Ludwig to pause for a moment in thought, he was not sure of that himself...But what choice did they have? Wiping his eyes with his sleeve he gave a slight nod."Perhaps...But if we continue like this...As you said we will have bigger problems...Go tell the boys the plan and get ready...I'll-"he paused for a moment before continuing"-get the ball rolling Chief."he ordered, the Chief gave another stiff nod before he left the man's quarters, leaving the Kapitan alone once more. Ludwig got off the bed and headed to his desk, activating the comm-transmitter and started to calibrate it towards Omega-52...
Code:
Communications ID: Kapitan Strauss, RHBS Berne
To: The Sirius Coalition, Revolutionary Army High Command.
This is Kapitan Strauss of the Red Hessian Battleship Berne, for months my crew and I have been in the Omega-5 System, months have passed as I have watched our own High Command and my brothers hide behind the barricades. Afraid to take the risks one must always take in times of war, afraid to take risks like that with the Casablanca Offensive, unwilling to do what must be done to cripple our mutual foe and the enemy's ability to wage war upon the people of the Revolution.
This constant stale-mate has been making my crew and I skeptical of the Command's ability to wage war and managing the resources of the revolution towards the purpose of defending our people, our way of life and the lives of our Military personnel against threats such as the Corsairs or the Kanzler.
The Crew of the Berne are going to thus take an ambitious undertaking, the majority of us wish to join the Sirius Coalition's banner and take the fight to the enemy. Once we have control of the ship I would wish to meet with representatives of the Sirius Coalition to discuss the transfer of control of the ship into the hands of the Revolutionary Army.
I know that we are taking great risks with this endeavor, however we believe that there is nolonger a choice...For if we do not do this...Than the crew may take matters into their own hands and Gott knows what they would do without a steady hand to guide them...I fear they may even turn against what we believe in and return to the lives of Piracy...
May the Red Dawn shield us from darkness.
With that he sent off the message and drew his pistol...Checking the ammunition within it and hoping that he wouldn't have to use it before he left his quarters quickly...The Revolution of the Berne had begun...The Steel Fortress' internal war was closer than ever...
General Meier was returning to his Office from Mess Hall, it was shortly after Lunch time. He nodded to a couple of men on his way through the Halls of Gorodk. It was large and spacious, especially the offices of High Command were grand. As he approached his own office doors, his secretary looked at him, she was short, blonde and had blue eyes, Rheinlander, like himself, and recruited personally by himself as his secretary. She spoke to the General.
A Message from a .. Hessian Battleship Commander arrived General, I have relayed it to your Office.
Meier nodded in thanks and entered his office. Taking of his coat and hanging it over the back of his chair, he sat down. The Office was barely decorated, a Coalition Banner hung over the door, Medals and Commendations were on the walls, and a few pieces of Military Hardware from the Generals Fights were around. He opened the Message, leaned back and read it on his Neural-Net Tablet. It was quite an interesting message. It was not uncommon for Hessians to want to leave the Hessian Army and join the Coalition, no it happened quite often just like Meier did himself, although it was uncommon for a Kapitaen to want to take a Whole Battleship with him, but it was an opportunity. High Command had to act quickly if they were to help Strauss. Some of the men on his ship were surely not too fond of him commanding the ship into the Hands of the Coalition, and once they received it, they could study it. They might as well make the best of such a grand opportunity. Picking up his phone , General Meier rang up his Secretary, ordering her to Forward the Message to Commandante Vaschenko for further decision making, he himself would write Strauss an answer. It did not take Meier long to head to the Communications Center and dial in on the Berne's Signal. Meier quickly began typing.
Code:
Communications ID: General Erik Meier, Sirius Coalition Revolutionary Army
To: Kapitan Strauss, RHBS Berne
Kapitan Strauss, your message has been received by the Coalition High Command and forwarded to our Premier, who will make the final Decision. Your message came as a suprise to me, a whole Battleship wanting to join the Coalition is a unique event, and I myself am more than willing to support you and your loyal men. I will personally see that this matter is discussed at the best possibility and will, upon the Premier's word, Dispatch troops to head to your location.
The Coalition has long supported the Hessians, and the other way around, and i do not see a wrong thing going on here. As a former Hessian myself, i can understand you and your men, and i know what you are going through. I take this matter at a personal Level, and will do anything in my Power to get you introduced to the Safety of Omega-52 and away from the Omega-5 Front during the discussions with the Premier, who will surely want to meet you.
I hope to see you soon Kapitan,
In the Name of the Coalition, The Commandante and the Red Dawn,
General Meier.
The General hit send and left the Communications Center, heading back to his office to begin crucial Calls for the matter. On his way by his secretary, the General gave the order to Relay any other Message from the Kapitan to his Office. The secretary nodded and Meier returned to his chair, picking up his work and organizing a High Command Meeting.
Red Hessian Battleship 'Berne'
Omega-5 Battlefront
Ludwig was at present making his way back to the bridge, forcing himself to remain calm and focused as he weaved through the crewmen in the corridors, by now the Chief would be waiting for his signal to cut the power to the long-range transmitter to prevent any 'Hessian Hard-Liners' from calling for aid...It would be bloody, but he frankly had nothing left to lose, it's either they make a choice now or remain static in this stalemate...
As he walked onto the bridge Eric came up to him with a datapad, the younger man gave a sharp salute and a nod before returning to his post. The elder man gave a small smile, young Eric was a good officer, he could only hope he didn't act rashly during the revolution. Turning his gaze towads the data-pad he noted it was a coded message from his 'benefactors'. Putting in his Command Authorization Codes into the datapad he reviewed the message with a slight nod...The time to act was upon them, he quickly wrote a reply and sent off his own message, keeping the pad close to him to prevent the rest of the crew from viewing the message...
Code:
Communications ID: Kapitan Strauss, RHBS Berne
To: The Sirius Coalition, Revolutionary Army High Command, General Meier
The message has been received. Operation: Garnet is now underway. Communications backout will be in effect until we have secured the Berne.
Long Live the Revolution.
Kapitan Ludwig Strauss.
With that sent off he took a deep breath and sent another message to the Chief, giving him the signal to cut off the Long Range Transmitter's power before he returned to this chair and toggled the ship-wide intercom. Taking another deep breath he plowed onwards, there was no turning back now."Attention, this is the Kapitan, as you know we have been on patrol in this hell-hole for months on end, I know each and every one of you has the same thought on their minds, the same words on your lips...Why are we here when we should be taking the fight to the enemy? Why do we stagnate here while those who would oppose us grow stronger day by day?"he started out, keeping a sharp eye out around him while clutching his pistol in his left hand, concealing it from open view by keeping it close to his lap as the crew slowly stopped what they were doing and looked towards him curiously. Licking his lips he kept pushing on, damned the consequences!"The reason is quite simple, the Hessian High Command nolonger cares for winning the war, they are afraid to take the risks needed to win against the Corsairs and even the Kanzler's attack dogs...You might now be asking yourselves this, what can we do about it? I can only see one real option for each and every one of us, the option that while is high in risks, the rewards for our people are well worth it...Many of you know who and what the Coalition is, the Hessian's close allies, men and women unafraid of the Corsair's defensive capabilities and are willing to strike deep into the hearts of the enemy. I ask you this...Do you want to remain stagnant...Or do you want to make a true difference in Sirius? If so than join us, join the Coalition and truly fight back against the enemy that has plagued us for so long, if you stand against us however...You will fall, but we will remember you...That is all." He finished before looking to the bridge crew, many of them looked shocked while Eric had a contemplative look in his eyes. Then hell broke loose. Helmsman Bayer had drawn his pistol and was quickly taking aim at Ludwig. He acted upon instinct and shifted his aim from his lap outwards towards the Helmsman, letting off a quick burst of weaponsfire. The impact sent the now former helmsman onto the deckplates, a small cluster of bullet-holes leaking blood from his chest...
Looking towards Eric he spoke loudly and clearly. Leaving no room for mis-interpretation."Anyone else?" was all he spoke, looking each and every remaining member of the bridge crew in the eyes, searching for any signs that they wanted to join the helmsman in 'displaying their opinions through violence...'.
One by one they shook their heads negative before turning back to their work, Eric being the last of them to shift his gaze from his commanding officer, letting Ludwig give a small sigh of relief, sometimes the death of one speaks volumes. Thus was proven not more than a minute ago...
He could hear reports from all over the ship, the crew was divided but so far the Strauss Loyalists had the upper-hand, however the fighting would likely last for hours without outside interference...Strauss got out from his chair and took over the helm, grimacing slightly as he used his sleeve to clean off several specks of blood that now dotted the helm. He put in a set of coordinates and started the ship off at maximum thrust, he didn't dare use the cruise-engines incase the Corsairs detected the massive power-buildup...That would end the trip rather badly...The course he set would take them to the coordinates the long way around the Corsair stronghold...Cadiz...
--Omega-52, Planet Volgograd, Kremlin Dome,
Office of The Premier.--
Katya had been leaning back in a large black leather swivel chair, half asleep, idly sucking on a cigarette instead of reviewing the rather routine, pile of paperwork stacked neatly in front of her on the desk. Suddenly her personal communications console buzzed to life, startling her as it spoke in a rather commanding monotone.
"Urgent Message from General Meier, Respond? Ignore?..."
The synthetic voice prompted Katya several times over the next twenty seconds or so, frustrating her into a slightly more awakened state before she finally hit the "Play" button.
Listening intently, her expression turned from bored and tired to completely stern and serious as the details regarding the Hessian crew and their situation were read aloud in the monotonous synthetic voice of her "AI Assistant", a detail which she thought was rather ironic, given the potential ramifications of the situation being detailed.
Once the message was finished, Katya sighed loudly, smashing what was left of her cigarette into the black plastic ashtray to her right before rubbing her face in frustration as she sunk into her chair.
After a long moment of silent debate she sat up, fingering the "Reply" button on her com-console, speaking in a flat but stern tone, into the receiver.
"General Meier, I trust that you know what sort of fallout The Coalition could be faced with, in the event that we allow this...Kapitan Strauss, to desert his current duties in order to 'defect' to the Coalition. We may be allied with the Hessians, but that does not mean they will take kindly to this. However, I am not one to turn away those who seek to take up the banner of OUR Nation, so we will play this out.
You will ensure that this ship and whoever is loyal to it's Captain, are brought into the Omega 52 system without undue harm, what happens after that remains to be seen. If your mission to secure the ship and the 'defectors' seems likely to be compromised, you and your Marines are to eliminate EVERYONE aboard, and scuttle the ship.
We cannot afford to have such an event made public knowledge until we have had time to make a decision regarding which further course of action is to be taken.
In the Name of the Coalition People, and The Red Dawn, Commandante Vaschenko, Out."
Katya sighed softly, taking her finger off the "reply" button before leaning back in her seat, crossing her left leg over her right, and lighting up another cigarette.
She knew that one way or another, this event would create an interesting set of circumstances for her, and The Coalition as a whole, in the coming days.
General Meier was lounging in his large black chair, enjoying a fresh afternoon coffee and watching the new Volgograd News Program. He was pleased, the anchor did everything perfect, the VNA project would create great support among the people. As the communications terminal buzzed to life, Meier hit the play button listening to his Premiers Orders. He nodded as the message finished playing. It was now clear that so called "Operation:Garnet" as Strauss called it, would find Coalition support. Meier turned to his intercom.
This is General Meier to all 4th and 5th Squadron Pilots, Scramble Fighter wings 3, 4 and 6 and Bomber Wing 2. Ready the Radek for immediate departure with full detail. We're undocking in 30 Minutes.
Meier then turned back to his intercom, he would send one more message to the Berne, it would get there eventually as he would set it on Highly Encrypted Re-Transmission from the Radek itself, he spoke into the Comm Unit.
Code:
Communications ID: General Erik Meier, Sirius Coalition Revolutionary Army
To: Kapitan Strauss, RHBS Berne
Kapitan Strauss, I have received orders from the Premier to immediately find you and bring you into the safety of Omega-52. I will depart Zvedzny Gorodok in 30 Minutes and head to the Omega-5 front with sufficient numbers. It is critical to keep the Coalition involvement secret until we have reached the safety of our home system. This Message is set to Re-Transmit every 10 Minutes with a different encryption. The Radek will receive any answer you might send of success or failure. We will be looking for you.
I hope to see you soon Kapitan,
In the Name of the Coalition, The Commandante and the Red Dawn,
General Meier.
The General closed the communication link and got up, grabbing his coat and hat, putting them both on, he lit a Cigar and turned off the lights, heading out through the long corridor towards the Hangar Bays. Saluting some men as they scrambled about the Hangars, his Marines, the best of the best, loading onto the Radek, he continued along his path, a firm long stride until he entered the Bridge of his Marine Flagship.
30 Minutes Later
The was a small rocking of the Radek as the dock arms lifted from its hull, she was free and slowly floating out into the space outside the station. The Fighter and Bomber Wings formed up on either side and the course was set. To the Omega-5 front, and then to search for the Berne. Meier sat back in his chair as the Cruise engines charged and a small rock set it all into motion. Off they went into the unknown once again. It would be atleast an hour before they would reach operational locations, and Meier settled in, it could be a long deployment aboard the Radek.